Round 14 preview: Collingwood vs Werribee

Werribee will be looking to turn tables on Collingwood and provide a memorable 100th VFL match for Ben Moloney against his old side when it travels out to Victoria Park on Sunday.

Match details

Sunday, July 811:30am at Victoria Park, Abbotsford

The story so far

Werribee’s up-and-down 2018 campaign leaves it at 3-8 just past the halfway point of the season, but its last two matches – a big win against Frankston and a hard-fought loss to Geelong – have seen it produce arguably its most consistent two weeks of football.At 6-1, Collingwood looked to be sitting pretty after the opening eight rounds of the season, but four consecutive losses have seen the Pies plunge from second to eighth over the past month and find themselves in desperate need of a win to re-ignite their season.

Recent history

The round-five clash between the two sides at Avalon Airport Oval was one of Werribee’s more disappointing performances, Collingwood getting on top through the second quarter of the contest before ultimately running out a 58-point winner.

Talking points

• The last encounter between the two sides will likely count for little given the vastly different composition of the Collingwood lineup. Werribee won’t be taking the Pies lightly, even in light of their tough run in recent weeks, but there’s no doubt the absences of AFL-listers Josh Daicos, Alex Fasolo, Levi Greenwood, Brody Mihocek, Brayden Sier, and Daniel Wells makes for a very different prospect this time around.• While there are more than a few notable outs for Collingwood from last time around, there is also one very big inclusion in the form of Darcy Moore. The key-position swingman will likely line up in defence given Collingwood’s need to find a replacement at the AFL level for the injured Lynden Dunn, which could leave Werribee forward Josh Porter with another big job after last week’s match-up with Geelong’s Lachlan Henderson.• While both have been named as reserves for Collingwood’s AFL side, Callum Brown and Sam Murray will be two players Werribee will need to keep under control should they make their way into the Pies’ final squad. Brown enters the weekend on the back of a stellar midfield performance in a losing effort against Williamstown that saw him rack up 31 disposals and seven clearances, while Murray collected 25 touches – 22 of them kicks – in his trademark running role off half back in the same match.• Sunday will be a big day of milestones for Werribee; midfielder Ben Moloney earns top billing in what will be his 100th VFL game, but not to be overlooked are Joe Maishman and Sam Collins, who both notch up their 50th VFL matches.• There aren’t many superlatives that haven’t been used about Collins so far this year, but the Werribee key defender went to another level against Geelong big man Wylie Buzza last week. With 21 disposals and a whopping 14 marks, Collins looked in ominous touch against the Cats and will no doubt be one to watch in his milestone game in a probable match-up with the Pies’ Sam McLarty.